Chapter 8 : Chapter 8
Chapter 08. Even More Perfect
The underground gambling den was, as always, filled with a dark and erratic light.
The screams and cheers echoing from all over blended into one, blanketing the area in tension and excitement.
Hoo―
Hyunwoo took a deep breath.
It had become a sort of routine for him.
Whenever he arrived at a place he was to fight, he would first breathe in the air there.
As Hyunwoo moved to take his spot to choose an opponent, the Orc spoke to him.
“You'll be targeting only those with swords again today, won't you?”
“You knew?”
It seemed the Orc had also noticed my criteria for choosing opponents.
Well, considering I had only fought against swordsmanship users for a whole week, it would have been stranger if he didn't know.
Among the opponents I had chosen, there were also those whose physical abilities far surpassed their swordsmanship skills.
The ones who threw away their swords mid-fight and engaged in hand-to-hand combat were the most threatening opponents.
But.
‘In the end, I won them all.’
Hyunwoo recalled his fights from the past week and stepped onto the arena.
The match ended easily.
“Human wins!”
Seeing Hyunwoo come down from the arena, the Administrators began to whisper.
“Did the human win again?”
“He's one of the noticeable ones these days.”
That humans were weak was common sense in the Demon World.
When the human first won, they had considered it a brief stroke of luck, but now, a week later, they knew Hyunwoo's skill was not a matter of luck.
“He looks weak at a glance….”
“You shouldn't underestimate him just because he's human.
He's a guy with surprisingly excellent swordsmanship.
I think he was hiding his skills.
Thanks to that, more than a few have lost their mana stones.”
The rapid increase in his swordsmanship proficiency seemed to them as if he were hiding his skills.
Hyunwoo moved to the waiting room.
His expression was dark as he sat down after already fighting two matches.
‘My proficiency is still only at 88%….’
It had only risen by 6% in two matches.
In the beginning, the proficiency, which had risen by more than 10% with a single fight, was now visibly increasing more slowly.
It wouldn't be a problem if there were opponents to fight continuously, but….
Hyunwoo looked around and smiled bitterly.
‘Unlike before, it's not easy to get a fight.’
It was good that I was no longer looked down on for being human, but the number of gladiators refusing to fight me was increasing.
Now, if I requested a match ten times, it was a question of whether even one would be accepted.
The number of gladiators participating in the gambling den was constant.
At this rate, it seemed like there would be no opponents left to fight.
“You were rejected.”
“…Again?”
“He said he'd fight on the condition that you don't use your sword.”
“Tell him I'll do it if he fights with his arms and legs tied up too.”
The Orc shrugged.
Was he kidding me?
Telling me not to use my sword was the same as telling me to just lose.
This time too, the opponent Hyunwoo had singled out refused to fight.
I could no longer target only the weak ones.
Just then, the next match caught Hyunwoo's eye.
‘The Imp.’
He was the very person who had allowed me to steal the Kilij Swordsmanship on the first day.
‘That guy hasn't lost either, has he?’
Hyunwoo hadn't watched every single match, but he had been listening to the talk of the Administrators.
The ones most frequently mentioned in the underground dueling grounds these days were the human 'Hyunwoo' and the sword-wielding 'Imp'.
That very guy.
That Imp was on the ring, fighting.
Kikik―
Kilij Swordsmanship was a style specialized only in defense.
The Imp was covering for the lack of offensive power in Kilij Swordsmanship with his agile movements.
“It's over.”
As Hyunwoo had predicted, the Imp, after deflecting the Werewolf's claws, drove his sword into the guy's neck.
As if he had no intention of ending it with a mere incapacitation, he twisted the embedded sword before the referee could intervene.
Keok―!
With a short, final scream, the Werewolf's breath was cut short.
Kik― kikik―
The Imp sneered at his dead opponent and walked down from the ring.
It wasn't a big deal even if someone died.
This was that kind of place, to begin with.
‘An Imp….’
I designated him as a potential opponent and ran a battle simulation in my mind.
The Imp's Kilij Swordsmanship proficiency was 90%.
In the case of Kilij Swordsmanship, his proficiency was higher than mine.
Moreover, the Imp had the advantage of being extremely fast.
But.
‘It's doable.’
I had the Common Swordsmanship of the Northern Mercenaries.
Besides, the fact that I knew Kilij Swordsmanship in detail was a huge advantage.
He was a manageable opponent, as long as I was careful of his irregular and fast movements.
While Hyunwoo was contemplating, the Imp got back on the ring.
Then, our eyes met.
Sssik―
The guy was smiling unpleasantly, revealing his yellowed teeth.
A different reaction than usual.
As I was feeling uneasy about it, the Orc approached me.
“The Imp has issued a challenge.
Will you accept?”
“A challenge?
That guy?”
“That's right.”
He informed me of the Imp's challenge.
Kik―
When I looked back, the guy's face was clearly filled with a sneer.
“…….”
Hyunwoo looked at the Imp without a word.
Since I had already been considering a fight with the Imp, my deliberation was short.
“Set up a match with that guy.”
It could be dangerous.
But if I didn't take a risk here, I might face a crisis in the Arena.
If I had to choose between the two, now was the right time.
‘At least here, it's one-on-one.’
Soon, the match was set, and Hyunwoo entered the ring.
But before the match began, the Imp's behavior was strange.
‘What is he doing?’
Until now, he was a guy who would take the opening stance of Kilij Swordsmanship and prepare for a counterattack, but today was different.
The Imp, who was shaking his body along with his sword above his head.
I stared blankly at that grotesque gesture for a moment.
Hyunwoo saw the expectant expressions on the faces of the surrounding Administrators.
“Don't tell me…!”
As soon as the match started, Hyunwoo spat out a curse and rushed at the Imp.
Flash―
“……!”
A dark red light burst from the guy's body.
Faced with that light, Hyunwoo squeezed his eyes shut and retreated.
My vision suddenly went dark.
But even as time passed, there was no sign of my vision returning.
“Damn it…!”
I had been so focused on swordsmanship that I had overlooked something important.
This was the Demon World.
Naturally, there were those who used magic or curses.
What the Imp had just used was a curse.
It seemed I had been hit by 'Blind', a type of curse.
Kieeeeeek!
“……!”
Along with the Imp's grotesque scream, the tip of his sword began to rush toward Hyunwoo.
* * *
“Hmm… So it ends up like this?”
The Orc knew about the Imp's hidden card, but he didn't stop the human from participating.
No, there was no reason to stop him.
‘I just have to do my given role.’
To manage and watch over the gladiators.
Because that was his role as an Administrator.
‘Is this the end after all?’
The human had shown surprising growth so far, but he felt that this was it.
However.
“He's holding on well.”
Even without his sight, the human didn't know how to give up.
He was fighting the Imp by deflecting his sword.
Watching that sight, admiration arose on its own.
‘To be that good even with his eyes closed.’
But the admiration was brief.
As his stance began to crumble as if his stamina was depleted, he was helplessly beaten.
Before he knew it, the human was a wreck.
He had desperately protected vital spots like his head and heart, but his whole body was covered in wounds, big and small.
The reason he was holding on so far was that the human understood the Imp's swordsmanship.
The swordsmanship the human used was the same as the one the Imp had learned.
‘He must have learned it here….’
Others often said that the human was hiding his strength, but there was no way he, who had watched the human from the very beginning, would be mistaken.
‘Talent.’
The only word that could explain the human was his unbelievably overwhelming talent for swordsmanship.
A brilliant talent that made him want to stop the match right now and watch the human grow in the future!
He thought this was the last chance to save the human.
But that was his mistake.
“…What is this?”
As time passed, the Orc felt that something was strange.
There had been several opportunities to surrender so far.
But the human didn't seem to have any intention of surrendering.
He had thought he was a guy who valued his life above all else….
In that moment, he felt a change in the human.
The human paused for a moment, then relaxed the pained expression he had worn throughout the match.
His stance changed rapidly.
And the swordsmanship he wielded was somehow different.
The Imp who swung his sword was the one who ended up flailing, losing his balance and retreating.
The atmosphere changed.
In a short moment, the human's momentum had changed.
The Orc shot up from his seat.
‘It's nonsensical if you think about it rationally….’
But soon, the Orc realized he had made a meaningless assumption.
If things were rational, the human should have died on the first day.
‘An irrational human.’
One thing was certain.
If the human won this time too, it would be proven that he was a different being from the other weak-ass humans.
* * *
Hoo―
Hyunwoo let out a rough breath and corrected his posture.
‘That was dangerous.
What's the state of my body?’
I could tell even without seeing.
My entire aching body felt sticky.
My whole body was soaked in blood, like minced meat.
The fact that I hadn't sustained any major injuries amidst all that was a piece of luck I had created myself.
It was possible thanks to my high level of understanding of Kilij Swordsmanship.
I had succeeded in dodging or deflecting most of the attacks, but I couldn't block them all.
As wounds were carved into my body, the fear that I might die crept up on me.
Surrender came to mind on its own, but I soon shook my head.
‘I can't stop after seeing this.’
Even though it was a world of darkness filled only with blackness, there was something I could see clearly.
The swordsmanship proficiency that was rising rapidly every time I struggled to deflect a sword.
It was the status window.
⌜Kilij Basic Swordsmanship (1-Star)―89%⌟
⌜Kilij Basic Swordsmanship (1-Star)―93%⌟
⌜Kilij Basic Swordsmanship (1-Star)―98%⌟
⋮
Seeing the swordsmanship proficiency rising at a tremendous speed, I steeled my heart against the thought of surrender.
Now was the time to take a risk.
Hyunwoo risked his life to raise his proficiency, and finally, he felt a sensation as if time had stopped.
⌜Kilij Basic Swordsmanship (1-Star)―100%(M)⌟
He had mastered Kilij Swordsmanship.
And a different illusion unfolded from the time with the Common Swordsmanship of the Northern Mercenaries.
The mastered Kilij Swordsmanship didn't contain any grand techniques.
Just.
‘Deflecting.’
It contained a more perfect 'deflecting.'
A perfectly executed deflection could break the opponent's movement itself.
‘And the probability of breaking the movement depends on how well you understand the opponent's movements.’
The swordsmanship the Imp mainly used was the same 'Kilij Swordsmanship' as mine.
All of the guy's movements were drawn in my head.
The Imp's anger-laced roar flowed into my ears.
Kieeeeeeeeeek―!
The Imp charged fiercely.
I heard the sound of the wind.
That wind carried the foul, gamey smell from the guy's body.
Unlike before, the shape of that wind was drawn in my mind.
‘I can feel it.’
The rhythm of the wind touching my skin was tracing the Imp's movements exactly.
No, now, beyond just feeling it.
‘I can see it.’
The way he held his sword.
The way he charged.
Even the movements of his running arms and legs.
I could see the guy's movements clearly.
This was no illusion of mine.
Swoosh―!
The Imp's swung sword was definitively entangled with Hyunwoo's blade.
⌜Kilij Basic Swordsmanship (1-Star)―100%(M)⌟
The moment Hyunwoo pulled his sword, the Imp's sword spun idly in place.
The Imp's stance collapsed.
‘In one go!’
Hyunwoo changed his stance and unleashed the Common Swordsmanship of the Northern Mercenaries from his sword.
The sharp and rough fangs of the North devoured the Imp.
As the swordsmanship continued as if it were a single motion,
Seogeok―!
The guy's neck fell.
The Imp's cries were no longer heard.
As the one who cast the curse died, my vision returned.
Through my gradually brightening vision, the Imp's corpse came into view.
Hoo―
Hyunwoo let out a short breath and looked around.
The shocked expressions of the onlookers came into view vividly.
And among them was his own Administrator, the Orc.
Hyunwoo observed their expressions and smirked―.
Being able to see was this important.